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We live in a complicated world, and organizations that do good things sometimes have relationships with organizations that do controversial things. But maybe that's not possible anymore. At least, that seems to be the lesson of the Susan G. Komen Foundation's decision to pull the plug on funding Planned Parenthood's breast cancer screenings for low-income women.

This is the creep of the culture war into all areas of American life: science, media, charity, even the Girl Scouts. The effect is to politicize things - like breast cancer screenings or Girl Scout cookies - that were once seen as an unalloyed good.

These tensions over abortion have existed for a long time. People and organizations have the right to put pursue political goals and put pressure on organizations to alter their policies. But when organizations under fire try to placate their critics and remain the bland, non-controversial organization they once were, things explode. They can't have it both ways anymore. If they're going to yield to their critics, they should explain why, and why they still deserve the support of those who disagree. And if they're going to stay the course, then they should be willing to defend their existing policies.

But that's not what's happening. Available evidence points to the Komen Foundation making a political decision on Planned Parenthood, then denying politics had anything to do with it, including devising this post-hoc rationale:

Further, should Komen become aware that an applicant or its affiliates are under formal investigation for financial or administrative improprieties by local, state or federal authorities, the applicant will be ineligible to receive a grant. An organization may regain its eligibility once the investigation is concluded if the organization and its related affiliates are cleared of any wrongdoing.

As many have pointed out, this may be the most ridiculous rule ever conceived by a nonprofiit. Investigations - especially those launched by politicians - may be legitimate, or they may be fishing expeditions or vendettas. In this case, politicians are attacking Planned Parenthood not because they want to root out corruption, but because one of the things it does is fund abortions.

Like NPR before it, Komen is now getting a lesson in why the "have it all ways" approach won't work. If your critics sense weakness, they'll only want more concessions from you. And now you've pissed off everybody else. It's on. At least the divisions are now explicit. (And Planned Parenthood seems to be doing OK.) But the fraying of civil society continues apace.